OLYMPICS organisers are facing calls to make Coventry tickets available free to schoolchildren, with swathes of empty seats expected again on Tuesday night.

The South Stand at the Ricoh Arena (renamed the City of Coventry Stadium for the Olympics) is expected to be closed for the women's football match between New Zealand and Cameroon, because of disappointing ticket sales.

Calls for greater flexibility with City of Coventry Stadium tickets for remaining games if necessary – including giveaways to schools, colleges or local sports clubs – are being led by former city councillor and ex-MP Dave Nellist.

A campaigner against Olympics corporatism, he said: “If the Olympic experience means anything, give them away to schoolchildren. Coventry should lead.”

The Coventry Telegraph has also raised questions since Thursday about empty seats in Coventry – ahead of a national outcry over unused tickets for high-demand London Olympics events.

Coventry’s Olympics 2012 organisers, based at Coventry City Council, also told the CoventryTelegraph they supported calls to get more into the stadium for what is billed as “the greatest show on earth”.

But the part-council-owned Ricoh Arena – renamed for the Olympics – has been handed over to the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

Laurence Archer, LOCOG’s media manager for Coventry, said problems in London of sponsors, or the “Olympics family” (including international officials), not turning up to use allocated tickets was not a problem in Coventry for football – which he said was traditionally a lower demand Olympic sport than athletics, swimming or gymnastics.

He said only about 150 VIP tickets per game were made available in Coventry for the Olympics family, while any sponsors’ allocations not purchased for individual games were already being re-allocated for general sale.

Asked if LOCOG could release more free tickets to schoolchildren or colleges, as was announced this weekend for the larger Hampden Park in Glasgow, he pointed to difficulties with the school holiday, and said LOCOG’s general position was not to drop face-value ticket prices, as it would be unfair on those who paid the full price.

He added thousands of free tickets to schools and colleges had already been allocated for Coventry games.

Mr Archer told the Telegraph the south stand was likely to be closed off again on Tuesday night, due to expected ticket sales well below Sunday’s two-match men’s football sell-out.

He said official attendance for Sunday’s first game between Mexico and Gabon was 28,000 in the 32,500-capacity stadium, and Coventry had sold the largest number of football tickets after Wembley (at £20/40/60 adults, and “pay your age” for under 16s).

A full house is also expected for Wednesday's men’s football “double header” – Japan v Honduras and Senegal v United Arab Emirates.

But Tom Clift, Olympics organiser in Coventry based at the city council, conceded people might not stay for both games, which “gives the empty seat look beyond our control.”

He added: “We fully support calls to get more people into the stadium. Unfortunately, even with free tickets/giveaways, sometimes they do not all take up the allocation or turn up on the day.”

Women’s football fans will learn on Tuesday night whether the British “Team GB” or Brazil will be playing in Coventry at Friday evening’s quarter-final.

High sales are expected for any Team GB match, and potentially for Coventry’s last of eight matchdays – the bronze medal match on August 9.